Luis Temple inquest: Teenager did not intend suicide, says dad

THE dad of a teenager who hanged himself believes his son was “messing about” and did not intend to kill himself.

Luis Temple, 15, was discovered in his bedroom on the evening of Sunday, February 11, unconscious and not breathing before dad Wayne Temple began CPR before police and paramedics arrived.

During an inquest on Wednesday, coroner David Reid said while it appeared to be a deliberate act, “it’s not possible to reach a conclusion as to his intentions”.

However, Mr Temple told the court his son, a pupil at The Chantry School, was “always searching for the next thrill and the next thing that would give him a buzz”.

He admitted his son had been smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol with friends on weekends, often in Worcester, since he was 13, but that this was almost never excessive.

On the day of his death, Luis had spent the afternoon in Worcester with friends and admitted he had drank some alcohol when his dad picked him up at around 6.30pm.

A post mortem examination revealed he had a small amount of alcohol in his blood but no non-prescription drugs, said Mr Reid.

Speaking to the Worcester News after the hearing, Mr Temple, of Stourport-on-Severn, said: “It was not deliberate suicide. It was him being stupid and messing about.”

Sergeant Jemma Greenow, who was involved in the investigation into Luis’ death, said there were no suspicious circumstance surrounding the incident or any third-party involvement.

However, on examining his laptop and iPhone, officers found search “items that suggest Luis was looking at suicide videos” and information about depression medication.

She said these searches had been ongoing for a year with the latest as recent as three days before his death.

Luis was found unconscious by brother Rommi, 12, sometime after 8pm on February 11, before his dad and then two police officers performed CPR. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics at 9.40pm.

Mr Temple said Luis had fallen out with his main group of friends prior to starting at The Chantry and teachers told his parents for the first month he would often be alone at lunchtime.

However, he soon “found his feet” and built up a strong friendship group, including other teenagers in Worcester, where he spent most weekends.

Regarding his smoking cannabis, his dad told the court: “We talked about it quite often. We didn’t want to stop him outright and make him see it as the forbidden fruit.”

“Some of his friends were taking ecstasy and various other drugs but Luis didn’t do any of that.”

Mr Temple said there was “no change to any mood or anything to cause concern”.

The court heard how Luis struggled to concentrate at school until in Year 10 he was diagnosed with convergence insufficiency, a condition in which the eyes are unable to work together when looking at nearby objects.

He was prescribed with special glasses and Mr Temple said his son’s school work improved, with the condition having caused him some distress before it was identified.

He said Luis was looking forward to life after his GCSEs, having just taken his mock exams, and was researching a catering course at the University of Worcester.

Mr Temple said while his son was a “happy chap” and could “talk the hind legs off a donkey” he and Luis’ mum Alison “didn’t have a clue” how popular their son was until after his death.

“The stories and things other kids were saying about the things he got up to in support of others, things off his own back to make other people feel better, were absolutely unreal,” he said.

“One lad at school had been scared to walk around on his own due to bullying and Luis would carry him around in a piggy-back, which meant he was late for his own classes. He then smoothed things over with the bullies.”

“Hearing all this made it easier because it was like we were still getting to know him, it was like he was still living,” added Mr Temple.

If something's troubling you, Samaritans can be contacted 24 hours a day throughout the year for free on 116 123, or 020 8368 6789 at local call charge rates.

This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here